Chinese smartphone maker UMI has been around for a few years, and some westerners may be familiar with the company’s ultrathin Zero handset, or some of its fancy accessories, like stylish headphones.

However, the company’s latest budget phablet is not designed for fashion enthusiasts or audiophiles. The UMI Emax is going after the geek market, with a good price/performance ratio, 1080p screen, and the fact that it ships rooted.

If you checked out some of our previous reviews of MediaTek-based phones, you’ll notice a recurring spec pattern: MT6752 octa-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, 5.5-inch screen. The phone is available for $159 via GeekBuying. So what makes the Emax different?

Well, for starters the phone ships with an oversized battery that can keep it going for two days. It’s also rooted out of the box, and UMI has another trick up its sleeve, sort of. It’s called Rootjoy, and it should enable users to install stock Android 5.0 Lollipop, MIUI6, EMUI, HTC OS, and a few other ROMs.

It sounds like there are a few neat features to differentiate the UMI Emax from the rest of the field, so let’s take a closer look.

Design and Build Quality

Since this is a $159 phone, you probably won’t be surprised to learn that the build is all plastic. Still, the phone feels solidly put together, there are no creaks and no flex. Measuring 152.3 x 76.5 x 7.9mm, and weighing in at 148g, the Emax is relatively compact for this product category; it’s thinner than most budget phablets, it’s not too tall, and it’s light.

There is no removable back cover and all card slots are accessed from the sides. You can open them with your fingernail, but you’ll need one of those SIM removal tools you always keep losing to get the cards out.

The faux-metal finish is not bad, but could be better. The back looks good and until you pick up the phone, you may mistake it for a brushed aluminium device like the HTC One series. However, the tactile feeling is quite different. We also noticed a few minor imperfections, but nothing too bad. The good news is that the textured finish keeps fingerprints and smudges at bay.

Silver and dark grey colour options are available, and we thing the darker one makes a bit more sense. Apart from some subtle branding, there’s not much to set the phone apart from the competition.

The oversized speaker grille is a nice touch, but don’t get your hopes up – you still get an average mono speaker.

The card slots are covered by plastic flaps attrached to the phone with a bit of rubber. They can be undone with a fingernail, but you'll still need a SIM-removal tool to pry the cards out.

The camera lens and single LED flash are at the centre of the device, above the UMI logo.

The front is just as plain, if not more so. The capacitive buttons have the “back-on-left” layout, but they don’t use the latest icon designs, introduced with Android 5.0.

Overall, the design is understated and pleasant. The logo might be a tad too big, but it’s understated (at least it’s not chrome or something). It’s not a truly original design, but it’s not a complete rip-off of a bigger brand either. Sure, it has some Motorola DNA and a few HTC genes, but it’s somewhat different than either of them.

UMI Emax Specs and Performance

Since we tried out our first MT6752 device a few months ago, we’ve come to expect a lot from MediaTek’s mid-range octa SoC. The Emax does not disappoint; it delivers good performance, and it has a few things you usually don’t find in similarly priced phones.

The spec is more or less standard for this type of advice, but the Emax stands out in the display and battery department. A 1080p panel in this price range is still a nice touch, although devices like the Meizu M2 Note and Lenovo K3 Note, which we recently reviewed, offer 1080p at the same price.

The 3780mAh battery is another good selling point. We’ve tested devices with almost the exact same hardware platform with 2600mAh and 2800mAh batteries, so the extra juice is definitely a welcome addition. Plus, it doesn’t add to the girth or weight. The Emax is almost exactly the same weight and thickness as the Lenovo K3 Note, although the latter has a removable back cover.

The UMI Emax is a fast device, but it's not as fast as some MT6752 phones we had a chance to test.

The biggest drawback of using the MT6752 on a 1080p device is that the GPU is simply not powerful enough to keep up with "big-core" processors used in flagship phones.

Overall, performance will not be an issue should you choose to get this device. It’s on a par with other devices based on MediaTek’s MT6752, and we’ve already concluded that this is pretty much the best price/performance chip out there today.

Bottom line – if you’re in the market for a sub-$200 phone, you can’t get faster hardware than the MT6752, and there’s really not much more to say.

Audio, Display and Camera Quality

The 1080p panel is quite good, and somewhat better than the one we had a chance to see on the Lenovo K3 Note.

We have no complaints about colour reproduction or viewing angles. Our biggest issue with the screen is that we don’t really know what sort of glass is on top. The spec merely states it’s an OGS fully laminated panel, and that’s it.

Audio quality is average. The rear-firing speaker is adequate, but not spectacular. Call quality is good, everything is loud and clear, nothing to see here, uhm, hear.

As for the cameras, things could have been better. UMI does not say much about the sensors in its spec sheet. It merely states that the front-facing 5-megapixel shooter has an f2.2 lens, and that’s it. We don’t know what sort of sensor is in either camera.

The main camera delivers below average results. We suspect it doesn’t have a very fast aperture, so low-light shots can be troublesome, but the focus issues will soon make you forget about the aperture.

The camera seems to have trouble focusing in certain situations, namely when you need infinite focus, which we found quite odd. HDR helps, but it does not fix the focus issue, and generates a bit of ghosting as well.

Indoors, the situation is somewhat better, as the camera focuses well and produces decent snaps.

As our 100% crops in daylight and under incandescent light prove, the camera can do a good job. The colours are good, and a lot of detail is preserved even at night.

However, the camera is let down by the quirky focus outdoors. Compared to other Chinese phones with 13-megapixel cameras we had a chance to test, the UMI falls short.

The camera app UI is quick and easy to understand, no complaints there.

OS, UI and Everyday Use

UMI’s idea of shipping pre-rooted phones isn’t new, and it’s Rootjoy software is supposed to allow users to easily go back and forth between different ROMs. Don’t like the look of stock Android? You can make your phone look like a Meizu, HTC or Xiaomi, no problem.

Except there is one: we couldn’t get it to work. Now, this could be down to us and our sample unit, which is a pre-production model. In theory, users should be able to install Rootjoy on their computer and simply flash ROMs as they see fit. Granted, it’s not for everyone, but like we said, UMI is going after the geek crowd with this particular model. It’s really a pity we were unable to test this feature, as it could attract a niche audience.

So, we are left with the Emax as a standard phone, and we are happy to report it performs admirably. It’s responsive and the hardware clearly has no trouble dealing with all the usual stuff. Our biggest complaint is that there’s a fair amount of bloatware to deal with. Fortunately you can get rid of it, but we’d rather not get any to begin with. Advanced users should have no problem with this, or the stream of notifications common to rooted phones. It just takes a bit of tweaking and you’re good to go. However, it’s really not a phone you should buy as a Mother’s day gift.

As far as everyday use goes, the best thing about the Emax is the battery. You can get two days out of it, easy. If you are really careful, this can go up to three. This is quite good for an oversized phone, and there’s another feature worth mentioning. UMI ships an OTG cable with the Emax, so you can use it as an emergency powerbank to charge other phones. With 3780mAh on tap, this makes sense, as you can feed a few hundred milliamps to a buddy or your significant other on a hiking trip without starving your own phone. In addition to the OTG cable, the box includes another USB flat cable and a 1-amp travel charger.

We have no complaints about the ergonomics, either, although the tactile response on the buttons could have been better. Thanks to its shape, the phone feels good in the hand, and one-handed operation isn’t much of a problem.

Conclusion

UMI had a good idea with the Emax: provide a well-specced, pre-rooted phone for the masses. Not all enthusiasts can afford to spend a fortune on a new flagship, and the Emax was designed to tackle this niche.

It sounds ambitious, perhaps too ambitious. If Rootjoy worked properly, and if the camera was on par with other phones in the same price range (the Lenovo K3 Note comes to mind), UMI would have ended up with an excellent device for enthusiasts on a budget. The oversized battery is certainly a redeeming feature, but if you’d rather have a good camera than a few more hours of standby time, look elsewhere.

Luckily, value for money is not an issue. In spite of its foibles, the UMI Emax is still a very cheap device with a hefty battery and some interesting features. However, with a few more software tweaks, it could have ended up much better. We can only hope the company will address these issues with future software updates. The UMI Emax is not a bad phone, it has a good screen, great battery and delivers excellent performance on a budget, so it’s still worth considering if you are after a powerful budget phone.

Our biggest problem with the Emax is that it could have been so much better with a bit of careful polish.

The Lenovo K3 Note is yet another budget phablet designed for Asian markets, but like many of its competitors, it certainly has a lot of appeal worldwide.

The K3 Note is supposed to take on devices like the Meizu M2 Note, Xiaomi Redmi Note, and literally dozens of small-brand 5.5-inch phones designed on a budget. Speaking of which, we are dealing with a $149 phone here, yet a quick glance at the spec sheet could easily lead you to conclude that this is a $250+ device. That said, you are likely to pay a bit more than $149 due to strong demand, so many resellers are asking for $150-$160 or more. We received the sample from GearBest, which sells it for $152 with free shipping (depending on your location, VAT and customs may apply).

The phone features a 1080p IPS panel, 13-megapixel camera, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, Android 5.0, and a snappy MediaTek octa-core processor that breaks the 45,000 mark in AnTuTu. Not bad, eh?

There are, however, a few compromises and caveats, but on paper the Lenovo K3 Note looks like a winner. It's almost too good to be true, so let’s take a closer look. Surely, there must be something to complain about.

Design and Build Quality

If you’re a fashionista, you probably won’t be impressed by the conservative design of the K3 Note. It’s simple and utilitarian.

There’s no brushed aluminium, CNC-milled stainless steel or any fancy materials – just good old plastic and polycarbonate.

Three colour options are available: White, Black and Yellow (lemon yellow to be precise). As you can see, we got a white sample, and to be honest, we think it looks better than the other two.

The only difference between the three is the rear cover, which also houses the volume rocker and power button. In other words, you should be able to get a replacement cover in case you damage it, or if you just want to try out a different colour. We think Lenovo missed out on an opportunity here – the company could have rolled out a lot more colour options (think Nokia or Motorola).

As for the physical dimensions, the K3 Note is an average phablet. It measures 152 x 76 x 7.9mm, but thanks to the simple, polycarbonate and plastic construction, it weighs just 145g. This doesn’t sound very impressive until you factor in the user-replaceable 3000mAh battery.

At this point you are probably starting to suspect there is a catch, and that the build quality is subpar, or that something else is missing. Granted, the build is not as good as on phablets with plastic unibody designs, or metal frames, but it’s still pretty good. There is virtually no flex and the rear cover offers a snug fit. It doesn’t creak on the rear, or on the sides. However, the top and the bottom can flex a bit, and sound off in the process. Luckily, nobody is likely to grip their phone in such a way, so it’s not a big deal.

The matte finish on the polycarbonate back feels good and stands up to fingerprints and grease. It will obviously handle small scuffs and scratches better than glossy back covers on many similarly priced phones. It also offers a decent amount of grip.

The 1080p panel is protected by a pane of AGC Dragontrail glass, but that’s not all. The plastic bezels are not flush with the screen, so they offer some additional protection as well.

The layout is more or less standard – volume rocker and power button on the right, USB and audio connectors on the top.

Since the back cover is removable, no card slots are visible from the outside. Overall, the design is not bad, although it’s not head-turning. Like we said, it’s utilitarian, so the focus is on practicality and value, rather than the “wow” factor.

There is nothing wrong with that, at least not in this market segment. This phone is designed for people who are after good performance on a budget, for people who just want a straightforward workhorse rather than a flashy fashion accessory.

Lenovo K3 Note Specs and Performance

What sets the Lenovo K3 Note apart from most of the competition is the well balanced spec. Instead of integrating gimmicks, Lenovo decided to keep it simple and focus its efforts on what really matters.

As a result, the K3 Note ended up with a 1080p IPS panel, although most of its potential competitors rock 720p panels. 4G is on board as well, but there aren’t that many bells and whistles. Still, you do get a lot for your money, including a good battery and camera.

Eagle-eyed camera geeks may have noticed that we did not specify what sort of camera sensor Lenovo decided to use. The company merely states that the main camera has an f2.0 aperture, but we are not entirely certain whether we are looking at a Sony, Samsung, or Omnivision sensor. The same goes for the front camera, but we will talk about that it detail in the next section.

The phone does not support NFC, but like most Asian phones, it has an FM radio.

We also like the fact that the storage is not partitioned, you get 16GB in one go. You can also use the microSD slot to beef up your music collection, and the phone can accommodate two SIM cards and a memory card at the same time, which is not the case on some dual-SIM phones with card tray designs.

Now, it’s time for some bench scores (spoiler alert – they are quite good).

Antutu comes in just shy of 46,000, which is an excellent score for this sort of device.

In 3D Mark Ice Storm Unlimited, the Lenovo K3 Note manages to outpace the competition based on the same MT6752 processor, and Qualcom’s Snapdragon 615.

Basemark OS results aren’t as impressive, but they’re still ok.

As you can see, the K3 Note punches well above its weight. The MediaTek MT6752 is a good performer, so it has no trouble handling a 1080p display. Of course, it’s still not close to flagship devices in terms of overall performance, especially in the GPU department.

Still, considering the price and target audience, these scores aren’t just adequate, they are excellent. What’s more, the responsiveness of the UI and Lenovo’s applications (namely the camera), is impressive for such a cheap device.

Audio, Display and Camera Quality

One of the headline features is the 1080p IPS panel, which is a big deal at this price point.

Most of the competition is still stuck at 720p, and at 5.5 inches the extra pixels make a big difference in many situations.

While the resolution is adequate, and amounts to just over 400ppi, display quality could have been better.

Lenovo is using some sort of IPS panel, but we noticed some washout at high viewing angles. That said, we must note that we were comparing the device to mid-range phones with similar displays. It’s understandable that Lenovo couldn’t go all out on the screen and get a top notch unit used on $500 phones, so we will give it a pass.

When all is said and done, you are probably better off with an average 1080p display than a 720p display with somewhat better viewing angles. Which would you choose?

In the audio department, Lenovo chose to implement some MaxxAudio solutions, so the phone comes with loads of EQ options and good audio output. The rear-firing speaker is above average, but it’s not spectacular. It is easily muffled when the phone is on your desk, but luckily you’ll have a hard time muffling it when it’s in your hand. Curiously, Lenovo sells another variant of the K3 Note in China, dubbed Angelic Voice. This strange phone comes with a different rear cover, which features a big, ceramic speaker.

Now for the mystery camera. While we could make an educated guess about the origin of the sensor, we are simply not sure. It is probably an OmniVision or Samsung unit, but it might as well be a Sony. All three companies have similar 13-megapixel sensors and we’re just not sure. Another possibility is that Lenovo maybe shipping the phone with sensors from different manufacturers – we simply don’t know.

In any case, most end-users couldn’t care less about this stuff, they just want their snaps to look good, so let’s turn to image quality. We are happy to report that it’s good, possibly the best we’ve seen on such a cheap device. The relatively fast f2.0 lens definitely helps, HDR is good, but just in case there’s not enough light, the phone also packs a powerful dual-LED flash.

We were pleased with outdoor results, although some images tended to be under-exposed. HDR also works quite well, preserving a lot of detail and maintaining enough contrast even in some very tricky situations (black graffiti on a sunny day).

There is a bit of HDR ghosting, but not much, as our 100% crop proves. Overall, HDR works quite a bit better than on most budget phones, although it does kill a bit of detail and you end up with a slight watercolour effect.

Indoor shots were just as good. In daylight, there’s practically no noise and the camera focuses with ease. It's a bit on the soft side.

What about some indoor night shots? Our “cafeteria” under incandescent lighting (no flash) still looks good, with low amounts of noise and a lot of detail. However, default Auto settings will often produce an under-exposed image. No big deal, this can be tweaked, but it could have been better.

Lenovo’s camera app was another pleasant surprise. You can access loads of useful and gimmicky options, the UI is clean and straightforward, and it works well.

The only annoying bit is that swiping left won’t bring up the review window. Lenovo still does it the old school way, with a small gallery frame in the upper right corner of the app. The camera can also be accessed from the lock screen, using the “V” gesture.

The 5-megapixel front-facing camera is merely average, but the main camera is quite good. You’ll get comparable image quality on most $200-$250 devices, no question about that.

OS, UI and Everyday Use

Lenovo got a lot of flak for its Android skins in the past, and much of it was justified. The company has a habit of slapping on a lot of bloatware and heavy skins on its Android phones, and that’s something most enthusiasts don’t like.

This time around things aren’t nearly as bad, although there is still room for improvement. The latest incarnation of Vibe UI still offers a heavily customised Android experience, but it’s based on Android 5.0, and has a lot of nifty features as well. It could still do with a bit less bloat, but it’s not bad.

The Lenovo K3 Note also supports a number of useful gestures. You can unlock the phone with a swipe from the lock screen, you can launch the camera and so on. Gesture support is relatively reliable and faster than on your average budget phone.

Lenovo did a great job at optimising the launcher, so everything is smooth as silk. The phone feels very responsive no matter what you do with it, from gestures and the lock screen, to very demanding apps. There are a few nuisances, though. The preinstalled browser just isn’t good enough, especially not with Chrome just begging to be installed. We could not get the theme manager to work, either. Eventually it fired up and we managed to play around with some themes. We found a few original Lenovo themes and we can report they look good.

Although we are fans of stock Android, we don’t mind well thought through custom designs either. Lenovo didn’t exactly have these in the past, but with its latest Android 5.0 phones, it has made a giant leap forward. Things could still be better, because Vibe UI tries to emulate iOS a bit too much for our liking (squared icons, lack of app drawer and so on). However, this is quite common in Asia, and most major Asian smartphone manufacturer, save for Sony, Samsung and HTC, do the exact same thing.

The really good news is that the Lenovo K3 Note is very smooth in everyday operations and the launcher feels polished. It’s clearly well optimised, which has another positive side effect – battery life is quite good.

The battery itself is very thin for a 3000mAh unit, but it’s got a big footprint. The angled design allowed Lenovo to use a tall and wide battery that’s about 4mm thin. Even with a Full HD display, the MT6752 processor doesn’t have to break a sweat in most applications (except games, obviously). Lenovo’s optimisations seem to work quite well, so we got more than two days of moderate use out of the handset (without data). The big, high-res screen doesn’t appear to make much of a difference. If you are careful, you should get up to two days even with mobile data and moderate use.

Now for some bad news - a full charge takes quite a while. We are not sure whether this has something to do with the charger included with our particular unit, which is rated at 2000mAh, but doesn't appear to deliver that much.

The ergonomics are ok and there is almost nothing to complain about. Obviously, 5.5-inch phones aren’t for everyone, but as far as phablets go, we’ve seen worse. The matte back cover offers a fair amount of grip. It’s not that easy to remove, but once you get the hang of it, it’s straightforward. A tiny cut-out near the microphone allows you to pull it off, provided you have thin fingernails.

In terms of ergonomics, our biggest complaint is the lack of backlighting on the capacitive navigation buttons. While most people get used to the layout in no time, we feel it’s still a good idea to have some sort of light behind them. The phone also features a notification LED at the top, which helps. Speaking of LEDs, the dual-LED flash is quite powerful, and while it doesn’t do wonders for night photography, it makes for a good flashlight.

The GPS offers good accuracy and this is what we got in our office. It does take a while to get a first lock, but once it does, it works well.

Oh wait, we forgot the phone part of the review. The dialer is customised, but it’s good. The really good news is that audio quality is excellent, thanks to the noise cancelling microphone and a few proprietary technologies employed in the device. No complaints here.

Conclusion

You may view Lenovo as an also-ran in the budget phablet market, and there’s no disputing that. This segment was not pioneered by Lenovo, but at least it’s not directly copying its competitors. The Lenovo K3 Note features an original, albeit simple design, and offers excellent value for money.

This market segment is all about value for money, and Lenovo came up with a really attractive package on a tight budget. There’s really not much more we could ask for from a $150 phone – all the most important stuff is already on board: a fast processor, 1080p display, good camera, beefy battery, snappy UI. Lenovo took the basic recipe for a value phablet, trimmed the fat, and included a few neat items that are much more useful than gimmicks (namely a hi-res panel and good camera).

The end result is a great all-rounder, a phone capable of outperforming much more expensive devices, with a camera that wouldn’t be out of place in a mid-range device, or a flagship of yesteryear.The Lenovo K3 Note is a well-balanced smartphone with a lot of pros and very few cons. Add to that great value for money, and it’s obvious that Lenovo has a very strong product on its hands. The biggest problem with the K3 Note, and Lenovo phones in general, is that Western markets simply don’t get them. Well, there’s Motorola, but it’s really a pity that Lenovo decided against marketing its smartphones in Europe, North America, and other major markets.

In our opinion, the Lenovo K3 Note is hands down the best Android smartphone you can get for this sort of money – uhm – if you can get it in your country.

Chinese smartphones are going mainstream and western consumers are already familiar with brands like Xiaomi, Huawei and ZTE.

However, they’re just the tip of the iceberg. One in seven smartphones sold in China comes from a domestic brand – and there is no shortage of Chinese smartphone brands you’ve probably never heard of.

Mlais is one of them. This small Hong Kong-based company specialises in (very) affordable phablets and the Mlais M52 Red Note definitely qualifies as one. It’s pre-sale via Chinese resllers like Gearbest for $149, but you wouldn’t guess that by looking at the spec sheet. We will get to the specs and performance later, so let’s start by explaining why we are interested in this particular device, and Chinese phones in general.

Earlier this year we ran an opinion piece on commoditised Android, arguing that smartphones needn’t be prohibitively expensive and should be able to deliver a good user experience at virtually any price point. In fact, sooner or later they will replace feature phones in every market segment. But what does that mean for the average consumer? Don’t we already have phones like the Moto E and Moto G to cover this market segment? Yes we do, but we also have a lot more powerful alternatives like the Mlais M52.

How powerful? The Mlais M52 Red Note is based on a MediaTek MT6752 octa-core processor clocked at 1.7GHz. The phone also includes 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. It sports a 13-megapixel rear camera, 8-megapixel front camera, user-replaceable 3200mAh battery, 4G LTE, 802.11ac wireless and Bluetooth 4.0.

Not bad considering the price, but there are bound to be a lot of trade-offs, right? That’s what this review is all about. We want to see for ourselves, we want to check whether or not a $149 smartphone with impressive mid-range specs can be a good device. Specs aren’t everything, but in a device like the M52, they are obviously the key selling point. But what about the rest of the phone?

Let’s start with the design and build quality.

Design and Build Quality

This is a 5.5-inch phablet, so at 152 x 7.80 x 8.2mm (5.97 x 3.07 x 0.32 inches) it’s not what we’d call compact. The dimensions are comparable to similar devices, and so is the weight – 158g with a relatively powerful 3200mAh power pack.

As for the looks, the design is minimal and at 8.2mm the device does not look too chubby. The front is dominated by the 5.5-inch 720p panel with three capacitive buttons at the bottom. The volume rocker is on the left, while the power button is on the right side. The rear features the camera and flash LED, both of which are placed at the centre of the device, along with a Mlais logo and a big speaker grille at the bottom.

We can’t say we are impressed, but there’s not much to dislike, either. The good news is that the Mlais M52 is available in black, white and two colours – cyan and a vibrant, but light shade of red, a bit like terra cotta. All colour options look quite good, so what about the quality?

The back cover is removable, hence you obviously can’t expect polycarbonate-like rigidity. The finish is glossy, so you’ll have to wipe your fingerprints off on a regular basis. However, the cover feels rather sturdy, although every high gloss finish is susceptible to scuffs and scratches. The plastic is relatively thick, so you don’t get much in the way of flex when you handle the device. The same goes for the rest of the chassis – it feels right, there’s no creaks or cracking when you gently twist it, and it doesn’t feel like a cheap product (although it is one).

When we took the cover off, we were greeted by a good looking interior, which is not something you always see on inexpensive devices. The battery looks ok, as do the memory card and SIM slots. You can see a lot of screws on either side of the device, which is reassuring to say the least. Nothing looks out of place and everything feels like it was assembled with care.

The power button and volume rocker have a metallic finish, which feels somewhat cheap. There is not much more to say, as these are the only buttons on the phone. They get the job done. The Power button is placed on the Samsung / Nexus default right hand side of the phone.

The micro USB connector and the 3.5 mm stereo headset plug are both on the top of the phone, which is not great, but you will learn to live with it.

Our biggest concern is the glass. We are just not sure what sort of glass Mlais opted for, but in this price range it is obvious that Gorilla Glass 3 is out of the question. The phone ships with a pre-installed screen protector, which is not a bad idea, all things considered.

Since this is a small brand device, the choice of accessories is limited, but you should be able to get replacement back covers, flip covers and a few more accessories. We had a chance to check out the flip cover and it’s not bad. There is even a software option to control the Mlais Fashion case. The flip case reminds us of the LG Flip case for the LG G3, and for example it can show a nice looking analog clock when it’s closed.

Overall, the Mlais M52 does not feel like a premium device, but luckily it does not feel like a very cheap one, either. Actually, we’ve seen much more expensive phones with the same or similar foibles, so we’re inclined to say it’s very good for the money.

Mlais M52 Specs and Performance

As far as the specs go, we already covered the basics, but before we proceed let’s take a closer look. It’s worth noting that a lot of Chinese companies churn out 5.5-inch phablets with relatively good specs, but few match the M52 in terms of price/performance. Actually few isn’t the right word, because we can’t think of a single one. Basically you’re getting a good mid-range spec for the price of a low-end device.

You’ll probably agree that this is quite a spec sheet for a $149 phone. In fact, on paper the Mlais M52 looks like it could take on much more expensive devices, and to be honest it performs like a much more expensive phone.

The MediaTek octa-core SoC backed by 2GB of RAM devoured AnTuTu and scored upwards of 40900 in several consecutive tests, indicating that throttling is not an issue. Lack of custom skins and bloatware also helps make the phone feel responsive and quick. The ZTE Blade S6 powered by the Snapdragon 615 scores 28125, which is obviously significantly slower. Bear in mind that the Snapdragon 615 is shipping in some rather pricey phones like the Galaxy Alpha A7 and HTC One M8s.

In GeekBench the phone scores 810 in single-core score and 3947 in multi-core test. We did notice that when the battery goes down to below 15 percent, the score gets cut in half, suggesting automatic power saving takes a toll on performance. The Mediatek MT6752 SoC's main competitor, the octa-core Snapdragon 615, scores 620 in single and 2852 in multi-core test.

Overall, nobody will complain about the performance, and we mean nobody – the phone is roughly as fast as 2013 Android flagships and can wipe the floor with similarly priced devices (mostly based on quad Cortex-A7 parts).

In Antutu, the MT6752 performs quite well and outpaces the Snapdragon 800 and 615.

In 3D mark, flagships based on Snapdragon 8xx silicon pull ahead with a wide margin, courtesy of much more powerful GPUs.

Basemark also favours big quad-cores.

Quadrant was the only test in which the Mlais lost to the ZTE Blade S6, based on the Snapdragon 615. However, it was a close call.

Performance is not everything, so what about the subjective feeling? What about the display and audio quality?

Audio, Display and Camera Quality

The display is not very bright, although it is still a laminated IPS panel, so you get good viewing angles and colours. It is by no means impressive, especially not when you place it next to a flagship phone, but it gets the job done. In terms of resolution, 720p is not a lot nowadays, especially not on a 5.5-inch panel, but it’s not bad either. MediaTek has a patent pending technology called MiraVision, and this display picture quality optimization techniques makes a big difference when it is turned on. It can optimize picture at the pixel level, making a 720p display appear sharper than without it.

The panel is still pretty good for browsing and reading, casual gaming and the usual stuff. However, outdoors it simply lacks the contrast and brightness offered by more expensive handsets. The bezels are relatively thick, but that’s to be expected on this sort of device.

In terms of audio quality, call quality is average. There is no fancy noise cancelling microphone, but we doubt users will have much to complain about. The large speaker grille on the back might suggest that the phone has a stereo speaker setup, but it does not. There’s just one speaker on the left side. You won’t get a headset in the box, either.

As for the cameras, we can only say that megapixels are not everything, so you shouldn’t expect any miracles. However, with a 13-megapixel unit on the back and an 8-megapixel sensor, you do get more than you would expect on an entry-level device. The speedy processor also helps, as the camera is relatively fast, which is just as important as imaging quality.

The camera app has a few additional features you won’t find in Google’s camera software, but most of them are gimmicks, although there are a few neat options. It is mainly based on the stock Android KitKat camera but it adds gesture capture support and it will look for your Victory sign to take a picture automatically.

Pictures taken outdoors were quite good considering the price category, but the ones taken in low light ended up with a lot of noise. Once you turn on HDR, things get significantly better in some situations, but you need to keep the phone very steady.

Cropped to 100%, our sample images reveal the camera's abilites in daylight and we have to say we are very pleased. Dynamic range is somewhat limited and colours aren't too vivid, but there is really not much to complain about.

You should have no trouble getting decent looking images indoors during daylight hours, but as you can see the camera struggles in poorly lit environments.

Video at High Quality works in 1280x720 video and there is also a Fine settings, boosting the capture resolution to 1920x1080 and at this setting a 60-second video occupies 119 MB. The microphone will do a decent job in a quiet environment and the camera will be able to change focus almost instantly. In any case the results are average, but you won’t be embarrassed to share videos captured by the Red Note.

The megapixel count is impressive on both cameras, and the results aren't bad. We also compared the M52 to much more expensive devices like HTC's Desire Eye and One M9, and the camera obviously wasn't able to keep up with these premium models. Although we weren’t too impressed by images deliever in low light, we were taken aback by the sheer speed at which we could access the camera, touch to focus and take a few snaps.

This is simply not something you can get on a cheap phone with an underpowered processor, but thanks to the MT6752, the big Mlais is just as fast as devices that cost twice as much, or more. Long story short, the Red Note gets a thumbs up in the camera department. You'd be hard pressed to find anything better for this sort of money.

OS, UI and Everyday Use

This is where it gets really interesting, or not, depending on how you look at it. The Mlais M52 ships with Android 4.4.4, but an OTA update to Android 5.0 is coming soon, just in time for launch. This is probably a matter of weeks, but we could not confirm the date.

Now, when we say Android we mean Android, as in stock Android. There are no skins, no bloatware, nothing. The M52 boots up remarkably fast, since it doesn’t have to deal with bloat. We mentioned the Moto E and G in the introduction, and Mlais is basically emulating Motorola by keeping Android as clean as possible. This means the end user gets a straightforward user interface, just the way Google intended.

Chinese vendors have a habit of using their own Android skins that often try to mimic the look of Apple’s iOS, with squared icons and no app drawer. Not Mlais – and we applaud the small company’s decision to stick to near-stock Android. We really wish more Chinese phonemakers would use the same approach, especially on low-end devices, as it would make their phones more appealing to western consumers.

Since this is practically stock Android, there’s really not much to talk about. Anyone coming from a Moto G or Nexus should feel right at home. The only bad news is that we didn’t get a chance to check it out with Android 5.0, but the update should be available soon, which should make the user experience even better.

Bottom line – this is the best thing about the Red Note.

We were surprised to see a set of screen gestures available on this rather stock Android 4.4.4 phone. A double tap will turn the phone on, swipe up when the screen is off, will unlock the phone. If you draw a C on a turned off screen, you will launch the camera app, while a V would launch a flashlight, and you can even control the music player with gestures. The annoying part was that the capacitive buttons light up in red for a few seconds only. It is easy to forget where the home is, or where is the menu or back button. They would light up instantly when you would touch one of them but, we would like to see a bit more control over them. This is a minor issue since users are bound to get used to their location in a matter of days.

As far as everyday use goes, the phone suffers from typical phablet foibles – it’s a bit too big for single-handed use and pocketability may be limited. Luckily at 8.2mm it is quite thin for its size and spec.

Dual SIM support is common on Chinese phones and the Mlais M52 is no exception. Many phones nowadays ship with a dual-use tray, so you get a choice of using two SIM cards, or a single SIM card and memory card. The Mlais M52 can accommodate two SIM cards (one standard, one micro) and a microSD card up to 64GB at the same time, which is nice.

In terms of network support, the phone be compatible with 3G networks in many regions, and quite a few 4G standards are supported, too. However, before you decide to pick one up, you need to do your homework and check whether or not it supports the right standards for your region/carrier, just in case.

With a 3200mAh battery, the Mlais M52 should have no trouble keeping up with a busy schedule. Even with heavy use you should get a day of use, but if you’re very light on data and content consumption, you could get as much as two days. Although 3200mAh sounds like a lot and many users are likely to expect more than a day on a single charge, keep in mind that the device features a big display and relatively powerful hardware, so don’t expect miracles. We also suspect it’s not as optimised as big brand phones.

Conclusion

Were we wrong to call 2015 the year of commoditised Android phones? Can $99-$199 devices really offer a good user experience? The short answer would be yes, but it’s a bit more complicated.

When we first Googled “Mlais M52”, we ended up reading an article on the Miles M52 experimental aircraft that could have beaten Chuck Yeager’s Bell X-1 to the sound barrier, had Britain not gone nearly bankrupt in 1947. The good news is that you’re not likely to go bankrupt if you choose to get a commoditised Android phone from China, because some of them offer truly staggering value for money, like the M52 Red Note. The bad news is that brand recognition, support and image are just as important for many consumers as the spec, if not more. If you’re more interested in specs than badges, you may find this device very appealing.

The Mlais M52 is a grunt, an inexpensive yet powerful phone that should appeal to frugal users who don’t want to spend a lot of money on a phone, but still want a lot of power and practicality. If it was a car, it would be a big American pickup, while Samsung and Apple flagships would be the equivalent of pricey European coupes. It offers great performance, on par with flagships of yesteryear, for the price of a Moto G or less. Oh, and one more thing – this sample was provided by Gearbest, who also have a discount coupon for our readers – so if you’re interested in buying one, you can actually order it for $136 with free shipping (Coupon GBM52). Of course, customs and sales tax or VAT may apply, but in any case you’re looking at Moto G money. The regular price will be $159, while $149 is the presale price.

We admit it, we are spoiled by flagship phones and this is the first Chinese phablet we every laid our hands on, so the team’s expectations ranged from good to terrible. Funny as it may sound, the Red Note’s biggest problem may be its incredibly low price, because we suspect a lot of people will dismiss it outright, thinking it’s simply too cheap to be any good. After spending some time with the Mlais M52, our scepticism was gone. If someone was to stick a big brand badge on the M52, add a fancier finish on the back, they could easily charge $100 more for it and we’re sure people would still buy it, thinking it’s a steal. In fact, we showed it to a Moto G 2nd generation user, a programmer, who thought he was tinkering around with a €300 device.

We liked it, not as an inexpensive device with a lot of caveats, but as a good device, regardless of price. The Red Note not perfect, far from it, but you really can’t do much better in this price range, so the Mlais M52 gets a resounding thumbs up.

Mlais M52 Pros and Cons

Pros:

Excellent performanceGood all-round specNear-stock Android experience with no bloatwareClean design with a few nice colour optionsExceptional value for money

The Lenovo P70 is just an average mid-range phone for the booming Chinese market, but it happens to feature a massive 4000mAh battery.

The Lenovo P70 is a 5-incher, with a 720p IPS panel. Despite the oversized battery, the phone measures 71.8mm x 8.9mm x 142mm and weighs in at 149g, which is not bad, all things considered. The battery is not user replaceable though.

The rest of the package is not bad either – you get a MediaTek MT6752 SoC, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of NAND storage and a microSD slot. The MT6752 features eight Cortex-A53 64-bit cores clocked at up to 1.7GHz, and Mali-T760MP2 graphics capable of hitting 700MHz.

The phone has a 13-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. Connectivity should not be a problem, as it sports LTE, 802.11n wireless and Bluetooth 4.0. The Lenovo P70 is a dual-SIM device. It's priced at about $220 in China, but don't expect it to go on sale in western markets.

The only problem we could think of is the fact that the phone is available only in ‘Midnight Blue’ – which is a pity, as it could do with a few more colour options.

As we pointed out earlier this week, the Android phone market is becoming increasingly commoditised, so a lot of vendors are trying to find new ways of differentiating their devices. Slapping a huge battery on an affordable mid-range phone is just one way of doing it.

It also makes us wonder – if it’s already possible to create cheap, yet relatively thin phones with oversized batteries, what sort of battery life can we expect on upcoming smartphones, with vastly more efficient FinFET processors?

ARM announced its first 64-bit cores a while ago and SoC makers have already rolled out several 64-bit designs. However, apart from Apple nobody has consumer oriented 64-bit ARM devices on the market just yet. They are slowly starting to show up and ARM says the transition to 64-bit parts is accelerating. However, the first wave of 64-bit ARM parts is not going after the high-end market.

Is 64-bit support on entry-level SoCs just a gimmick?

This trend raises a rather obvious question – are low end ARMv8 parts just a marketing gimmick, or do they really offer a significant performance gain? There is no straight answer at this point. It will depend on Google and chipmakers themselves, as well as phonemakers.

Qualcomm announced its first 64-bit part late last year. The Snapdragon 410 won’t turn many heads. It is going after $150 phones and it is based on Cortex A53 cores. It also has LTE, which makes it rather interesting.

Qualcomm and MediaTek appear to be going after the same market - $100 to $150 phones with LTE and quad-core 64-bit stickers on the box. Marketers should like the idea, as they’re getting a few good buzzwords for entry-level gear.

However, we still don’t know much about their real-world performance. Don’t expect anything spectacular. The Cortex A53 is basically the 64-bit successor to the frugal Cortex A7. The A53 has a bit more cache, 40-bit physical addresses and it ends up a bit faster than the A7, but not by much. ARM says the A7 delivers 1.9DMIPS/MHz per core, while the A53 churns out 2.3DMIPS/MHz. That puts it in the ballpark of the good old Cortex A9. The first consumer oriented quad-core Cortex A9 part was Nvidia’s Tegra 3, so in theory a Cortex A53 quad-core could be as fast as a Tegra 3 clock-for-clock, but at 28nm we should see somewhat higher clocks, along with better graphics.

That’s not bad for $100 to $150 devices. LTE support is just the icing on the cake. Keep in mind that the Cortex A7 is ARM’s most efficient 32-bit core, hence we expect nothing less from the Cortex A53.

The Cortex A57 conundrum

Speaking to CNET’s Brooke Crothers, ARM executive vice president of corporate strategy Tom Lantzsch said the company was surprised by strong demand for 64-bit designs.

He said ARM has been surprised by the pace of 64-bit adoption, with mobile parts coming from Qualcomm, MediaTek and Marvell. He said he hopes to see 64-bit phones by Christmas, although we suspect the first entry-level products will appear much sooner.

Lantzsch points out that even 32-bit code will run more efficiently on 64-bit ARMv8 parts. As software support improves, the performance gains will become more evident.

But where does this leave the Cortex A57? It is supposed to replace the Cortex A15, which had a few teething problems. Like the A15 it is a relatively big core. The A15 was simply too big and impractical on the 32nm node. On 28nm it’s better, but not perfect. It is still a huge core and its market success has been limited.

As a result, it’s highly unlikely that we will see any 28nm Cortex A57 parts. Qualcomm’s upcoming Snapdragon 810 is the first consumer oriented A57 SoC. It is a 20nm design and it is coming later this year, just in time for Christmas as ARM puts it. However, although the Snapdragon 810 will be ready by the end of the year, the first phones based on the new chip are expected to ship in early 2015.

While we will be able to buy 64-bit Android (and possibly Windows Phone) devices before Christmas, most if not all of them will be based on the A53. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Consumers won’t have to spend $500 to get a 64-bit ARM device, so the user base could start growing long before high-end parts start shipping, thus forcing developers and Google to speed up 64-bit development.

If rumours are to be believed, Google is doing just that and it is not shying away from small 64-bit cores. The search giant is reportedly developing a $100 Nexus phone for emerging markets. It is said to be based on MediaTek’s MT6732 clocked at 1.5GHz. Sounds interesting, provided the rumour turns out to be true.

A leaked MediaTek document has apparently confirmed that the chipmaker will launch at least two 64-bit SoCs by the end of the year.

The info was obtained by Mydrivers.com and the chips are based on the Cortex A53 core, which is practically a 64-bit replacement for the frugal Cortex A7. This means they are entry-level and mid-range parts, as the A53 won’t end up much faster than the A7 – the Cortex A57 is ARM’s new high-end 64-bit core. The MT6732 will feature four CPU cores, while the MT6752 packs eight, which makes it look like the direct successor to the MT6592, MediaTek’s first octa-core based on the Cortex A7 core.

There is still no word on what sort of GPU MediaTek plans to use for the new 64-bit cores. The MT6592 and the rest of the A7 octa-core family feature a Mali 450 GPU, which is hardly cutting edge. However, the recently announced MT6595 (Cortex A17) has much beefier Imagination Technologies PowerVR Series6 graphics.

Both 64-bit parts also feature LTE connectivity. This means they could take on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 410, which is the first cheap 64-bit SoC to be announced by any chipmaker. It is also interesting to note that the Cortex A53 is expected to be on a par with the Cortex A9r4, which is to be used in the Tegra 4i, Nvidia’s first LTE enabled SoC.

All three outfits appear to have something going for them. Qualcomm still has the best LTE programmers on the planet, which means it can quickly adapt the Snapdragon 410 for any standard and help speed up time to market, but it probably won’t be nearly as fast as MediaTek’s and Nvidia’s offerings. MediaTek could have the CPU performance lead, especially with the octa-core part, while Nvidia’s Tegra 4i might end up with the fastest GPU of all three, but it is not a 64-bit part and it is based on a venerable CPU core.

On-die LTE for the masses is just around the corner and a few months from now consumers should have a lot to choose from. If only we knew what sort of GPU MediaTek has under the bonnet...